Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kenya
The
Kenyan Embassy
( 0116-610033; keni gad@ethionet.et; Fikremaryam Abatechan
St; 9am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri)
charges US$50 for three-month tourist visas. One
passport photo is required. Applications are taken in the morning only, with visas ready
the following afternoon. Visas are also easily obtained at the Moyale border and at Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Somaliland
8.30am-12.30pm & 2-3.30pm Mon-Fri)
produces one-month tourist visas for US$40. It
requires one passport photo and it's issued while you wait.
Sudan
Unless you're using the services of a registered Sudanese tour company, then obtaining a
tourist visa at the
Sudanese Embassy
( 0115 516477; Ras Lulseged St;
8.30am-12.30pm Mon, Wed & Fri for visa service only)
is a mission impossible if ever
there was one. Prepare for a lot of sweat, tears, headaches and then a big, fat 'No'. All ap-
plications are sent to Khartoum for approval, so the process of being told you can't have
one can take over a month to complete. However, don't go changing those plans just yet
as there is one way in. Transit visas, allowing up to a fortnight in Sudan, are issued fairly
easily. For this you require an onward visa for Egypt, a photo and, for most nationalities,
US$100 cash. Americans, you get to pay US$200. It normally takes a day to issue.
South Sudan
South Sudan is a new country. It's not used to tourists, and, boy, can you tell that when
you go to its
embassy
( 0116 620245; off Cameroon St; 8.30am-12pm & 2-5pm
Mon-Thu)
. When we passed by nobody really appeared to know exactly what was re-
quired in order to get a tourist visa. But from what we could decipher the essentials were
proof of sufficient funds, a letter stating the purpose of your visit, a photo and US$100. In
addition you may be required to supply a letter from your home employer and they may
ask you to attend an interview. Once you've done all that one-month visas are issued in 72
hours.
